Infant feeding bib



NOV. 8, G p. LUCAS INFANT FEEDING BIB 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Gladys PLucas BY 77Zmflwwz v pm 4 TTOQ Mex 5 Filed Dec. 5, 1952 NOV. 8, G P LUCAS INFANT FEEDING BIB 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 5, 1952 INVENTOR. Glad 5 .7? Lucas 4 T TOQAJEYS United States Patent INFANT FEEDING BIB Gladys P. Lucas, Austin, Tex.

Application December 5, 1952, Serial No. 324,337

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-49) This invention relates to garments of a protective nature, and more particularly, has reference to a feeding bib for infants, that is adapted to be worn by an adult while the infant is being fed, the garment constituting the present invention being so designed as to protect both the adult and the infant during the feeding.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a garmet of the type stated which will, as noted above, protect both the adult and the infants garments during the feeding of the infant, and which will also be so designed as to protect the adults garments while the pressure of gas in the infants abdomen is being released .after the infant has been fed. I I

Another object of importance is to provide a garment of the type stated which will be 'so designed as to be capable of being put on ortaken off with maximum speed and ease.

Another object of importance is to provide a protective garment as stated which will be particularly designed in a manner to prevent its slipping from proper position while in use.

Yet another object is to provide a garment of the character referred to which will not hamper in any way the freedom of movement of either the adult or the infant.

Still another object is to provide a garment of the type stated which will not require a change in position, after the infant has been fed and is to be relieved of gas.

Summarized briefly, the protective garment constituting the present invention is formed with connected front and back panels, the front panel being adapted to extend downwardly from one shoulder of the wearer, approximately to the waist of the wearer, so that the free or lower end portion of said front panel will be disposed loosely in the lap of the wearer when the wearer is seated. A back panel is so connected to the front panel as to cooperate with the front panel in protecting the shoulder of the wearer, said front and back panels having connectible tabs or shoulder straps which, when joined, cooperate to define a neck-receiving opening, thus to hold the device in a proper position. The free or lower end portion of the front panel, in this connection, is so formed as to provide a bib for an infant supported in the wearers lap, while the infant is being fed. A connecting strip, that joins the front and the back panels intermediate the ends thereof, is adapted to cooperate with the shoulder straps in holding the entire garment in proper position during use.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claim appended thereto, and from the annexed drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a view showing the protective garment as it appears when being worn, the front of the garment being illustrated and the wearer being shown in an erect position;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l, in which the wearer is seated, the garment being shown in proper position when in use as a bib;

2,722,685 Patented Nov. 8, 1955 ice Figure 3 is a rear view of the garment as it appears when being worn, the garment being shown in use as a protector for the adults garments during the relieving of the infants gas;

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the protective garment per se;

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an elevational view of the garment as it appears when opened, a connecting strip being broken and the garment being viewed from the underside thereof;

Figure 7 is a plan view of the blank used in forming the front panel; and

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7, showing the blank used in forming the back panel.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the referencernumeral 10 has been applied generally, to designate the protective garment constituting the present invention. The garment can, in this regard, be formed from a blankof material of moisture-absorbent characteristics, said material being lined with a water-proof material such as plastic or the like.

The garment constituting the present invention is provided with a front panel designated by the reference .numeral 12, said front panel having arelatively wide upper portion adapted to overlie the front portion of one shoulder of the wearer, in the manner shown in Figure l.

The relatively wide upper end portion of the front panel 12 is merged into a lower end portion of reduced width, said lower end portionbeing defined by the provision of an elongated recess 14 formed in the outer side edge of the front panel. The recess 14, at its -lower eiid, te r m'inates short of the curved lower end edge of the front panel, and as a result, there is formed a hook-like extension or tongue 16, the terminal edge of which lies in the same plane as the front panel edge adjacent the wearers shoulders, as clearly observed in Figure 4.

Referring to Figure 2, the hook-like extension 16 defined by the recess 14 constitutes a bib portion of the front panel, which bib portion can be positioned over an infant in the manner shown in Figure 2, while the infant is being fed. The curved edge of the recess 14, extending to the adjacent side edge of the front panel, fits about the infants chin, so as to effectively protect the infants garments during the feeding.

As will be noted, the front panel is of substantial length, so as to extend to or below the waist of the wearer. This construction results in the lower end of the front panel, having the bib portion, being loosely disposed in the lap of the wearer when the wearer is seated, thus to permit said lower end portion to be properly fitted about the infants chin.

A protective liner is preferably secured to the back of the front panel 12, said liner being exteriorly configured substantially identically to the front panel, thus to cover the full area of said front panel. The liner has been designated by the reference numeral 20, and is preferably formed of a plastic material or the like.

It will thus be seen that during use of the protective garment, any liquid absorbed by the front panel will be precluded from dampening the wearers clothes, or the infants garments.

As best shown in Figures 5 and 6, the edges of the front panel 12 are turned inwardly throughout the periphery of the front panel, and are stitched to the corresponding edges of the liner 20.

A back panel has been designated by the reference numeral 22, and is somewhat shorter in length than the front panel. The back panel 22 is stitchedor otherwise connected to the front panel along a seam line 23, so as to cooperate with the front panel in covering the shoulder of the wearer.

The back panel 22 has a liner 24 secured thereto, throughout its periphery, and is integrally formed with a laterally projected, arcuate, relatively wide tab or shoulder strap 26.

A connecting strip 28 is secured at its opposite ends to the midlength portion of the front and back panels, and is so proportioned as to length as to extend along the wearers side, when the front and back panels overlie the front and back of the wearers garments in the manner shown in Figure 1. The strip 28 thus holds the front and back panels in proper position.

The shoulder straps 18, 26 cooperate, when connected to define a neck-receiving opening 30, said shoulder straps being connectible by cooperating gripper elements 32 or equivalent fasteners.

The provision of the connecting strip 28 defines, immediately thereabove, an arm-receiving opening 34.

In use of the garment, it is merely necessary that the garment be positioned over the left shoulder of the wearer in the manner shown in Figure 1. Thereafter, the left arm is extended through the opening 34, and the gripper elements 32 are connected to define the neck-receiving opening 30.

The garment is now ready for use, and the bib portion 16 is used as in Figure 2, during the feeding of the infant. Subsequently, when it is desired to relieve the gas accumulated during the feeding, the infant is positioned as in Figure 3, and patted in the usual manner.

It becomes readily apparent that the garment formed as illustrated and described is so designed as to insure the protection of the wearers and the infants garments, during both the feeding and the gas-relieving steps.

It is also considered to be of importance that the garment can be readily manufactured from inexpensive materials, can be easily washed, and does not hamper the infants or the wearers freedom of movement in any way.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suitedv Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a protective garment to be worn during the feeding of an infant, comprising a front and back panel of moisture-absorbent material and a liner of moisture-proof material, each of said panels having relatively wide upper end portions and lower end portions of reduced width merging therewith, said panels being connected at their upper ends to overlie one shoulder of a wearer with said panels adapted to extend downwardly over the front and back respectively of the wearer, a hook-like extension carried by said lower end portion of said front panel and projecting laterally therefrom in a direction away from a portion of the garment overlying the one shoulder of the wearer and adapted to project in a direction away from the other shoulder of the wearer, said extension along with said lower end portion defining a protective bib adapted for encircling the neck of an infant to be fed and said lower end portion adapted to extend from the neck of the infant to protect the infants garment during the feeding.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,414,136 Kleiminger Apr. 25, 1922 2,423,489 Dunn July 8, 1947 2,482,182 Henninger Sept. 20, 1949 2,617,105 Backman Nov. 11, 1952 

